Contestants who were stripped of their winnings
This is a list of contestants on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? worldwide who won cash prizes on the show but were stripped of them. Though it does not happen often, the most likely reasons of a contestant being stripped of their winnings is if they have a criminal record or have broken rules whilst playing the game. Neil Muir, Andrew Lavelle, and Sheridan Booth (UK) These three British contestants who appeared on the show in January and March of 1999 were stripped of their winnings as they had criminal records. Neil Muir, from Wallasey, Merseyside, won £64,000. Andrew Lavelle, from Wrexham, Wales, won £16,000 and Sheridan Booth, from Hassocks, West Sussex won £500. Charles Ingram (UK) Charles Ingram, an Army major from Wiltshire, England, “won” the £1,000,000 prize on September 18, 2001, but it was later revealed that he had cheated his way to the top prize. He was later stripped of his million pound prize and was kicked out of the Army in the summer of 2003. His wife Diana and Cardiff college lecturer Tecwen Whittock were accused of helping him cheat his way to the million by coughing whenever Charles mentioned the right answers. His episode was not actually broadcast until April 21, 2003 and was also made into a documentary called Millionaire: A Major Fraud. Lertlak Panchanawaporn (Thailand) Lertlak Panchanawaporn, a Thai street vendor, won the top prize of 1 million baht in 2002, but had her winnings taken away after it was revealed that a computer error led to the right answers being highlighted on her screen and not the presenter's. She was allowed to play again but only won 25,000 baht. Asen Angelov (Bulgaria) Asen Angelov became Bulgaria's first top prize winner on June 13, 2002. However, he had to return his prize of 100,000 levs as his daughter, Iskra Angelova, worked for Nova TV, which airs the show, a violation of game show rules, which meant that he was not eligible. As he is the only Bulgarian to answer the Top Prize question correctly, no-one on the Bulgarian version actually won the top prize. Krešo Lilić (Croatia) Krešo Lilić became first person who answer the final question incorrectly on 8 May 2003. He won 32.000 Kuna after incorrectly answering his 1.000.000 Kuna question, thus losing 468.000 Kuna. He was later stripped of his winnings due to violating game show rules, and the reason was giving an interview about his run before his run aired on TV. Luis Meyer as Reinhold Schlager (Germany) Luis Meyer on May 16, 2003 won €500 and tried to circumvent the ban on re-participation in the game after 3 years. He on April 10, 2006 under the name Reinhold Schlager again passed absentee qualifying rounds and came to show's studio again as fictional contestant. He managed to again take his hot seat and this time win €64,000. However, several vigilant viewers called the editorial office of the show and reported that, possibly, this contestant had already participated in the program. After the inspection, the participant was stripped of the winning. Zoran Popovich (Macedonia) Zoran Popovich on July 2006 appeared in the show. He became the last contestant of the last episode before the break. He won 100,000 dinari and a klaxon sounded. After that, the host told him that he would continue his run next season. But that did not happen. And the A1 channel bought a license and in December 2007 began to tape in his own studio without inviting Zoran, thereby depriving him of all the winning. Then the contestant decided to file a lawsuit against A1 and PTR Production, but luck was not on his side. Lê Thị Hồng as Lê Thị Cơ (Vietnam) Lê Thị Hồng (born 1968), who took part in the show under the name Lê Thị Cơ, appeared on Ai Là Triệu Phú in July 31th, 2007, answered the ? question wrong and won 1,000,000₫. Later she was stripped of her winnings after it was revealed she was a wanted crime for 11 years. She got arrested after 11 years of hiding in Đồng Nai, Vietnam. Alexander Druz and Viktor Sidnev (Russia) Alexander Druz and Viktor Sidnev were accused of bride with the editor Ilya Ber, cheating and they were stripped of the prize. Category:Contestants who were stripped off their money Category:Lists